In a series of tweets, President Donald Trump criticized motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson’s recent decision to move some manufacturing overseas, in the wake of hefty European Union tariffs.
Trump said on June 26 that the move was just an “excuse” for the company to justify their manufacturing changes.
“Early this year Harley-Davidson said they would move much of their plant operations in Kansas City to Thailand. That was long before Tariffs were announced. Hence, they were just using Tariffs/Trade War as an excuse. Shows how unbalanced & unfair trade is, but we will fix it,” he said.
“A Harley-Davidson should never be built in another country-never! Their employees and customers are already very angry at them,” he wrote. “If they move, watch, it will be the beginning of the end - they surrendered, they quit! The Aura will be gone and they will be taxed like never before!”
The European Union raised the tariff on Harley-Davidson motorcycles from 6 percent to 31 percent as a countermeasure to Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum. That adds approximately $2,200 to the cost of a motorcycle. The company said in a regulatory filing that it does not plan to increase prices as it adjusts to the tariffs.
The Trump administration has battled against eliminating tariffs and trade barriers that harm the interests of the United States.
